The most unique and original prewar streamliners

[Overmod]

54light15

What about steam powered?

There's a bit of semantics involved here.  When the OP called for 'unique and original prewar streamliners' it ruled out those trains that, for whatever reasons, came to be familiar as postwar streamliner types.  Most 'steam streamlining' in the United States was either not involved with specialty streamliner equipment (in the fast motor-train sense) or was done for marketing and appearance, often with standard equipment under the fancy skin.  Will Woodard at Lima did extensive development of a high-speed 4-4-4 ... which to my knowledge was never substantially marketed to anyone.  Once the Hiawathas became successful, they went to the 1938 equipment and the F7s ... and implicitly operation within a few mph of the 'magic ton' where the original equipment was nominally capable of much higher speed...

B&O, I think, expected to run the constant-torque on substantially the same sort of service they were already geared up for: not-very-convincingly skirted and diaphragmed consists that surely got the job done at 85mph but were not 'streamliners' in the exotic sense.

Now something that ought to have been highly interesting was the experimentation by the IH people with steam engines in Electro-Motive style doodlebug cars, just a couple of years before the M10000 research got under way.  It would have been very simple to streamline those, and put higher-quality trucks underneath, and in fact to use the steam generator and motor arrangements in a lightweight, probably articulated unit that could also pull trailers... but the Depression, or something else contemporary, killed the effort off almost without trace.  

[Former Car Maintainer]

54light15

So far it's all been about motor-powered trains. What about steam powered? the Dreyfus Hudson? Hiawathas? The various locomotives designed by Raymond Loewy? There are so many. 

 

The Budd Besler was mentioned...anything prewar, that was designed by an aeronautical engineer and wind tunnel tested...

 

[54light15]

So far it's all been about motor-powered trains. What about steam powered? the Dreyfus Hudson? Hiawathas? The various locomotives designed by Raymond Loewy? There are so many. 

[blue streak 1]

No photos but did SOU RR hace a couple of semi streamlined motor cars ?

[Overmod]

Mention ought to be made of perhaps the most portentous (and least-known) of the prewar equipment, something that still looks futuristic today: the original Pendulum Cars.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pendulum_railroad_coach_1937.jpg

Invented by a railroad scion, prototyped out of bent plywood presaging the Mosquito, this presaged the principle of some early lightweight trains, finally the Cripe/Sikorsky/UA TurboTrain that was the final hurrah of the original streamliner-motor-train idea.

(There was commercialization of regular cars, on a different wacky system involving long wibbley secondary springs that allowed running in consist with normal cars, that actually saw service on ATSF and the Burlington, but those did not take off meaningfully; ironically Burlington's would wind up as a motor-train trailer.)

[rixflix]

Reading's Crusader, while not the most strikingly unique, had an original idea for it's consist: obs-coach-cafe-coach-obs. No turning at Jersey City or Rdg Terminal Philly for it's twice daily round trips. Only the engine was turned at Communipaw and Green Street. The locomotive tender had a concave rear end to provide a nearly seamless look with the consist. 

Rick

[Gramp]

How 'bout a challenge to Warren and Charlie? PR for Berkshire Hathaway. They could watch at Omaha (right at Uncle Pete's front door). 

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Gramp

I wonder if BNSF could match that performance today. 

 

Except that BNSF doesn't operate passenger trains on its own dime.

[Gramp]

I wonder if BNSF could match that performance today. 

[Peoria Rocket]

54light15

I'd go with the Pioneer Zephyr. I've always liked it's squinty, sort of wrinkled looking face. There really wasn't anything like it before, was there? I wonder if anyone makes it in N scale? And here it is accompanied by George Gershwin:

I'd have to go along with the Zephyr. I saw the Mark Twain Zephyr when it was housed at Bloomington, Illinois for a short while in the 1980's or 90's on its' way to Wisconsin. It was in a derilict enough state to see the construction details. It was a truly lightweight welded train body, from what I could see of it, and still had a futuristic tinge to it. I should see if I can dig up the pictures I took, if the negatives are still in good order.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHe0YSciQao 

 

[Former Car Maintainer]

Overmod

Do we count the Michelines and the Silver Slipper (and the Prospectors or Motorailers) as 'streamliners'?  Or that original 'inspiration' for non-cheap motor trains, the Bluebird?

 

 

 

some of those were deemed windsplitters including the McKeen...

The streamliner definition might apply if an aeronautical engineer and wind tunnel testing was involved in its design...some will disagree...

[Erik_Mag]

mudchicken

 

Erik_Mag

I would add the Brill Bullets and the early UP streamliners.

  

 

McKeen Motor Cars

 

The original question was pre-war, not steampunk... OTOH, the CGW "Blue Bird" was a circa 1929 attempt at a streamlined train.

One fond memory was a family trip to Carson City in 1970 entering town from the south and immediately recognizing a McKeen car body being used as part of a building. This brought back memories of seeing what looked like a school bus body on the other side of the same building, to later find out it was another railcar.

[54light15]

I'd go with the Pioneer Zephyr. I've always liked it's squinty, sort of wrinkled looking face. There really wasn't anything like it before, was there? I wonder if anyone makes it in N scale? And here it is accompanied by George Gershwin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHe0YSciQao 

[BaltACD]

caldreamer

The original Milkwaukee Hiawatha with the unique boat tail observation car.

Have never heard it referred to as 'boat tail' .... Beaver Tail is what I have always heard.

[mudchicken]

Erik_Mag

I would add the Brill Bullets and the early UP streamliners.

 

McKeen Motor Cars

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Originality goes to the "Pioneer Zephyr", which combined streamlining, stainless steel construction and diesel-electric power into one train.

[caldreamer]

The original Milkwaukee Hiawatha with the unique boat tail observation car.

[Overmod]

Do we count the Michelines and the Silver Slipper (and the Prospectors or Motorailers) as 'streamliners'?  Or that original 'inspiration' for non-cheap motor trains, the Bluebird?

There is always the 'anti-streamliner' -- the train of conventional equipment that runs with streamliner performance.  The original Super Chief and C&NW 400s qualify here, I think.

We need to mention the A-powered Hiawathas and the mid-Thirties B&O lightweight consists (like the one that went with boxcar 50 to the Alton, IIRC)

The Rockets with TAs were notable but as with the Delta Eagle were representative of postwar general practice... like the Budd consists of the first two purpose-built Super Chief sets...

[Erik_Mag]

I would add the Brill Bullets and the early UP streamliners.

[Former Car Maintainer]

My choices would be...The New Haven Comet, The GM&O Rebel, The New Haven Besler Blue Goose, The Pioneer Zephyr, The Electroliner....